


and i thought it only a dream

by bleep0bleep



Series: A Series of Tumblr Ficlets [9]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Deputy Derek Hale, Dreams, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Misunderstandings, Soulmates, Stilinski Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-02-08
Packaged: 2018-03-11 01:46:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3311021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bleep0bleep/pseuds/bleep0bleep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek only started getting the dreams a few years ago, and he knows what it means, his soulmate is younger than him. Laura teases him incessantly about it, but Derek doesn’t pay her any mind. The dreams are fuzzy at best, he only has a fleeting glimpse of plaid shirts and laughter and a pink mouth. </p><p>As Laura and he start on their roadtrip back to California from New York, the dreams start to get clearer. Every state they cross, Derek can see the outline of his soulmate get more defined, knows that he has brown eyes, a gorgeous smile and fluffy hair that looks soft to touch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and i thought it only a dream

**Author's Note:**

> _This work is intended for the private enjoyment of the reader. I do not give permission to this work being shared with or read aloud by the press, or anyone working on said production of Teen Wolf, including but not limited to cast, crew, writers, or producers. I also do not give permission share this work on third-party websites such as Goodreads, which I believe is a resource intended for published works outside of fandom._
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> As per usual, I'm really slow at archiving things I've published on my tumblr. Originally [posted in August 2014](http://bleep0bleep.tumblr.com/post/94205955330/been-thinking-about-sterek-with-stilinski-twins) on tumblr, but anyways. Here it is!

Derek only started getting the dreams a few years ago, and he knows what it means, his soulmate is younger than him. Laura teases him incessantly about it, but Derek doesn’t pay her any mind. The dreams are fuzzy at best, he only has a fleeting glimpse of plaid shirts and laughter and a pink mouth. 

As Laura and he start on their roadtrip back to California from New York, the dreams start to get clearer. Every state they cross, Derek can see the outline of his soulmate get more defined, knows that he has brown eyes, a gorgeous smile and fluffy hair that looks soft to touch. 

"He must live on the West Coast," Laura muses when Derek tells her about it over a hasty lunch when they stop for gas in Texas. 

They’re in Arizona crashing in a motel on the last leg of their journey when Derek hears his soulmate’s voice for the first time. It’s a clear timbre, ringing like a bright bell in Derek’s mind, and it fills Derek with ache and longing. He wonders if his soulmate dreams of him too, can feel him getting closer and closer to wherever he is. 

The move back to Beacon Hills feels right; Talia welcomes her children home with open arms, doesn’t ask Laura too many questions about the man she thought was her soulmate and followed all the way to New York, or the years they spent in and out of each other’s pockets, trying to find their own way.

It was an interesting experience, but it wasn’t home. 

Derek is home now, and he dreams every night. He knows what his soulmate looks like, sounds like, knows that he’s close. 

"Don’t rush it, honey, when it happens it’ll happen," Talia says, smoothing his hair. 

"It’s just so frustrating," Derek complains. "I don’t know his name, I don’t know how to find him, I just have this— this image of him," he says. 

So it takes Derek completely by surprise when he’s at the supermarket and he turns the corner and there in the ice cream section, is his soulmate.

He looks perfect, standing there, contemplating between rocky road and mint chip, chewing on his lip a little. He’s dressed a lot nicer than Derek’s ever seen him, in slim black jeans, a polo shirt, gelled-down hair and fashionable glasses perched on his nose, but he’s still looks amazing. His face is the same, big expressive eyes currently attempting to make an ice cream decision. 

Derek approaches him cautiously, heart pounding nervously— this is it— this is when he’ll introduce himself and his soulmate will recognize him in return and they’ll live happily ever after and one day tell their children about meeting in the ice cream section of the grocery store.

Derek is still trying to figure out what to say when his soulmate talks to him first. “These two for one deals always get you,” he says. 

The moment feels strangely flat for what should be a monumental occasion, and Derek barely manages to say, “Yeah, I know what you mean.” He looks into the frosted glass of the display case. “Mint chip, though,” he says. It’s his favorite flavor, and the fact that there seems to be a sale on the flavor might mean something. Maybe.

Derek’s soulmate laughs. “It’s my brother’s favorite, but this isn’t for him.” He opens the freezer door and grabs the rocky road carton. “See you around, stranger!” he says, giving Derek a friendly smile and then walks down the aisle. 

That’s it. There’s no amazed sense of recognition, no rush into each other’s arms, no excited plans for the future, just Derek standing there shell-shocked in the ice cream aisle. 

Derek’s soulmate catches up to a blonde girl pushing a shopping cart with what looks like shared groceries and then is handing the rocky road to her, saying something that makes her giggle and laugh, and they kiss, folding into one another, looking like the picture-perfect image of happiness. 

 

* * *

 

Derek is heartbroken. It’s not entirely unusual for a soulmate connection to be one-sided, it happens every now and then. He refuses to leave his bedroom, and everyone is worried about him. His parents try to console him, telling him that it’ll get better, but Derek just wants to wallow in his misery for awhile. 

The dreams don’t stop. 

They’re tortuous, now that Derek knows he isn’t wanted. Every time he sees that face, those moles, that smile in his dreams, it hurts, but Derek can’t help but cling to these dreams; if it’s the only time he’ll get to be together with his soulmate he’ll take it. 

A few weeks pass, and finally Talia convinces Derek to go out and get a job. There’s an opening for a new deputy down at the Sheriff’s station, so Derek finds himself there talking to Sheriff Stilinski about the requirements. The interview seems to be going fairly well, and the Sheriff seems impressed with the work he did with the NYPD when he was in New York with Laura, and Derek thinks he’s going to get the job, when the door to the office opens and Derek’s soulmate walks into the office

He’s wearing plaid and a Star Wars t-shirt, hair fluffy like in his dreams. “Hey, Dad, your WiFi’s out again—” and then he stops, staring at Derek, jaw dropping open. 

"I’m in the middle of an interview here," the Sheriff says exasperatedly. "My son, Stiles," he says, jerking his head towards the door. 

"I, uh— hi!"  _Stiles_ squeaks at him, and something strange is happening inside of Derek, he feels warm and happy and that’s ridiculous, his soulmate has no right to make him feel like this when he doesn’t want him in the first place. 

"This is Derek Hale, he’s applying for the new deputy position," the Sheriff says to Stiles, who is still standing flabbergasted in the doorway.

"Yeah, you should—you should definitely hire him," Stiles says, giving a weak thumbs up. "Wow, you’re really—" and then Stiles offers his hand for Derek to shake, hesitant.

"We’ve met," Derek says coldly, not taking the hand. Stiles’ face falls, and Derek gets up from his chair. "Sorry, Sheriff, um, I don’t think I can do this," Derek says. "Thank you for your time," Derek says as he brushes past Stiles’ outstretched hand and out the office door. 

"Wait a minute," the Sheriff is calling out after him, but Derek is already halfway across the station. He call still hear him ask Stiles in an accusatory tone, "Stiles, what did you do?"

"Me? How could I have done anything?" Stiles asks incredulously, and it’s the last thing Derek hears when he leaves the station.

He makes his way glumly back towards his home. His dad asks how his interview went, and Derek wonders how he could say he turned down the job because of the chance that he might see his soulmate again, you know, on account of him being the son of his boss. 

Derek tries to lose himself in a book, but can’t focus. He stares sadly at the ceiling for awhile until Laura knocks on his door. “Hey, you’ve got a visitor,” she says.

Derek grudgingly follows her downstairs, where Stiles is standing in the hallway, making polite talk with his parents. 

"Hey, Derek," he says, smiling at him, waving a little. 

They’re ushered into the living room and then everyone conveniently disappears, leaving Stiles and Derek alone. 

Derek takes a deep breath. “Hello,” he says in what he hopes is an even voice. 

"So, uh, I think we may have a misunderstanding," Stiles says, hands nervously writing the edges of his plaid t-shirt. "We’ve never actually met before today, so I was really confused about why you thought we did, you know, since I’d remember meeting my soulmate and everything," he says, blushing pink. "And then, I asked my brother if he’d ever met a hot bearded guy, and it totally makes sense!" 

"This isn’t making any sense," Derek says, and then Stiles pulls out his phone. He thumbs through it and then shows the screen to Derek; there’s a photo of— okay, two identical Stiles?

"This is me, and that’s my twin brother, Stuart," Stiles says. He flicks the photo and the next one is of Stuart in his glasses with the blonde girl he was with at the supermarket. "That’s him and his girlfriend. You met them once, right?"

"Yeah," Derek says, a little dazed. "I— I thought he was my— I thought you—"

Stiles shrugs. “It’s all good.” He puts his phone away and smiles again, a little shy. “Do you wanna go get some ice cream with me or something?” 

"Yeah," Derek says, and this time when Stiles holds his hand out, Derek takes it, and the warmth that blossoms in his heart is exactly what he thought touching his soulmate for the first time would be like and more.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! You can find me on tumblr [here.](http://bleep0bleep.tumblr.com)


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